As gambling goes, the 50-50 draw is a Canadian tradition. Low stakes but highly social, it can be found at amateur or professional rinks and stadiums near you.
Going, going, almost gone are the days of the rolls of coloured paper tickets. Companies in Toronto (Bump 50:50) and Summerside, P.E.I., (5050Central) are changing the game with tablet computers. The result is quicker sales over a longer period. Fatter jackpots for the winner and more funds raised for the charity.
Tickets are printed instantly for buyers on handheld devices over wireless networks.
The corresponding individually numbered tickets are printed directly into the draw bin at a central location in the building. The growing jackpot is reported in real-time, until the cut-off time.
But not so fast.
The BC Lions were banned from selling 50-50 tickets electronically over alleged integrity issues at a game in mid-October.
The CFL club reverted to manual sales of pre-printed tickets for the November 3 regular season finale at BC Place Stadium, thanks to a Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) edict that also applied to the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Canucks, despite the National Hockey League lockout.
GPEB bureaucrats told those in the industry that they had to examine equipment, stadium wiring and volunteer training.
It’s not clear whether the devices were ever given a certificate of technical integrity to begin with. That is a stipulation under Section 75 of the province’s Gaming Control Act.
GPEB general manager Doug Scott refused to answer that question.
A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which has dominion over regulation and marketing of gambling in B.C., said: “Electronic 50-50 ticketing systems are relatively new. The province is working on new technology standards for approving these systems. Charities are suspending the use of this technology until it can be properly tested, approved and certified.”
The Lions raised $598,834 and gave away half, or $299,417, to winners through November 3. For their only playoff game, the West final on November 18, it was the season’s biggest prize when they gave away $75,418 to “Ulf from Kelowna.”
That meant the total gross amount raised for B.C. amateur football in 2012 was $374,835.
There will be some deductions. In 2009, the Lions reported $115,620.60 in net gaming proceeds, according to documents released via Freedom of Information. Expenses, as a percentage of gross revenue, were 13.26%.
The 2010 report said the club netted $84,244.12 but spent 15.07% of gross revenue.
Line items, including advertising, wages, printing and contract fees, were censored by government for fear of harming third-party business interests.
Canucks Sports and Entertainment (CSE) took in $3,593,828 and gave away $1,796,914 in 2011-12, the first year the company used the Bump 50:50 electronic system. Proceeds go to the Canucks For Kids Fund and Canucks Autism Network. Elise Pascale Shaw won the biggest prize ($65,777) on October 6, 2011.
In a video on the Canucks website, CSE chief operating officer Victor de Bonis extolled the virtues of the Bump system.
“We get to sell longer, because we can go all the way through the second period by having the system automated,” he said. “It’s raising a lot of money.” •
